Fulbright Canada Winter Newsletter

Winter 2013

Alumni Newsletter Foundation for Educational Exchange Between Canada and the United States of America

Fulbright NEXUS Program 2012-13 Inaugural Meeting

A message from CEO Michael Hawes Happy belated New Year!

I am pleased to report that 2012 was a banner year for Fulbright Canada, and that 2013 promises to be even more exciting. Please note the announcement of our new internship program and watch for other exciting new announcements.

From November 8-12 2012, Fulbright Canada hosted the inaugural meeting of the Fulbright Regional Network for Applied Research (NEXUS) Program - an initiative which involves twenty scholars from across the Western Hemisphere - in beautiful Banff Springs Alberta. The program was led by UC Berkeley Professor and Nobel Laureate Dr. Dan Kammen. The meeting included project presentations, research and commercialization panels, and thematic working groups – all with a focus on synergizing the efforts of governments, the private sector, and civil society around issues of climate change, sustainable energy, and innovation.

Dr. Andreas Hamann, an Associate Professor at the University of Alberta in the field of ecological genetics, represented Canada in this distinguished group of scientists.

He received his Ph.D. at the University of British Columbia, and his M.Sc. degree at the State University of New York, Syracuse. Subsequently, he has worked on conservation and natural resource management projects in the Philippines and Kenya. His current research centers on conifer population genomics and adapting forest genetic resource management to climate change in Canada.

Other participants from this year’s cohort includes scholars from Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, the United States, and Uruguay. These scholars will cultivate partnerships with local and regional stakeholders, linking science and policy through innovative projects with long-term social impacts.

I would invite you to read about the inaugural meeting of the 2012-2013 Fulbright NEXUS program that we hosted in beautiful Banff Alberta, take in the stories from several of our Fulbright specialists, and browse through the newest listing of our community and eco-leaders’ projects.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone for your assistance with recruitment and for your support for our ongoing efforts to grow the Fulbright program in Canada.

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Education Matters

Stories from Fulbright Specialists Exchange programs encourage students and scholars from a variety of fields of study to spend either a semester or an academic year abroad. International cooperation on education contributes to reform and solutions. Fulbright Canada, one country of the 155 where the Fulbright program operates, has seen 86 scholars in the field of education for educators and for students undertake an academic residential exchange. Fulbright Specialists Dr. Leigh O’Brien, Dr. Jack Wilkins, , and Dr. Charles White believe that education is an important and rewarding field that benefits from new ideas, cross-border collaboration, and heightened mutual understanding. *The Fulbright Specialists Program allows American academics to collaborate with Canadian colleagues on curriculum and faculty development, institutional planning, and a variety of other activities at Canadian institutions for a period of 2-6 weeks.

Early Childhood Education

Fulbright Specialist Leigh O’Brien (2011-12)

Leigh O’Brien has been the recipient of two Fulbright awards. The first was a six-month scholarship in 2004 which allowed her to conduct ethnographic research that focused on early childhood/special education in Stockholm, Sweden. The second took place in spring 2012 - a twoweek Fulbright Specialist Project at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI), with the same focus. At UPEI, Leigh was able to support the recent enhanced focus on early childhood education in Prince Edward Island (PEI) engaging with the institution. She lead a Department of Education & Early Child Development discussion on policy and practice; presented a keynote lecture at a UPEI early childhood research seminar; met with UPEI faculty members; presented to students and faculty at Holland College, PEI’s community college; lead a workshop for B.Ed. Kindergarten students at UPEI; and, was interviewed by the local CBC radio station.

Getting involved with the affiliated institution is just the first step; exchanges of this nature unveil new ideas, new friendships, and the excitement of being submerged in a different culture. “My daughter and I learned more about PEI by attending local events, visiting key sites, and getting to know some Islanders.

You can learn more about yourself and others, and become better informed about varied perspectives and practices, thereby impacting your research, your teaching, and your world view. It was a fabulous experience which I most highly recommend to anyone interested in broadening their horizons!”

Leigh argues that even her daughter was submerged into the culture. “My daughter’s homework - while she was away from high school during the two weeks we were in PEI - included the preparation of a presentation on PEI society for her Sociology class”.

Educational exchanges such as these are important to both the Fulbrighter and the collaborators at the host institution. Leigh notes that, “I certainly benefited from the experience, but believe the institutions with which I was affiliated also benefited from my expertise and our mutual crosscultural learning”. As an example, Leigh points to her UPEI keynote speech which identified shared trends as well as gaps in American and Canadian early childhood education. Based on her experiences and research, Leigh presented four broad suggestions for making North American

early education more inclusive: (1) taking seriously the ideas and practices of social justice and social inclusion; (2) learning to see – and develop – the potential in each child; (3) developing frameworks (political, legal, educational, civic, and personal) that support and sustain inclusive education; and (4) acknowledging the importance of a broad vision of curriculum, including attention to children’s strengths and interests, individual and cultural differences, teacher practices, school visions, and so forth. “It is so important to invest in our youth (who will be our future leaders), in continued education, and in scholars.

Educational exchanges are important because they promote mutual understanding and common solutions to global problems. “We all have a responsibility – some would say an obligation – to make the world a better place. Education is one way, perhaps even the best way, to help people learn about the diverse “others” with whom we must peacefully co-exist if our planet is to survive and thrive. Getting to know others “on the ground” and learning about varying cultures experientially helps us to see and appreciate both differences and similarities. I believe, because I’ve lived it, that the kind of international educational exchange opportunities supported by the Fulbright programs are, in fact, essential to cross-cultural understanding, and thus require us to make a societal investment for the benefit of all.”

Page 3 A Global Approach to Jazz

Jack Wilkins is currently in residence at the University of Alberta as a Fulbright Specialist working with the Music Education program in the Department of Secondary Education.

Since arriving on October 6, Wilkins has been teaching, and consulting with the faculty and students in the Music Education program on various educational approaches to implement jazz music into the curriculum of both university and K-12 music programs.

He has had the opportunity to interact with UA Music majors, rehearse and perform with the UA Jazz Ensembles and conduct a master class for the saxophone students in the Department of Music.

“I am a strong supporter of International experiences for students and faculty” says Wilkins. “I have led University of South Florida Jazz Ensemble performance tours to Italy, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and South Africa. I have participated in faculty exchange programs in Russia and Sweden. I co-led a jazz group with legendary Swedish trumpeter Jan Allan.

Each of these experiences has had a profound effect on my career and my outlook, both as a composer/performer and as a teacher. To travel to another country and experience the cultural differences firsthand is an invaluable educational opportunity”. Wilkins says that educational exchange allows scholars to experience the differences in how a native population views topics in their specialty area, such as educational techniques and concepts, appreciation of the arts, and approaches to music and performance. “It is those experiences, in combination with the basic survival issues of eating, sleeping,

Education Matters

transportation and communication that makes the “immersion” experience so valuable”.

When asked about his experience at the University of Alberta, Wilkins says, “it has been both inspirational and productive. I have been able to observe and experience some of the differences and similarities in educational approaches in the Music arena. In working with Dr. Tom Dust in the Secondary Music Education program, I have been able to learn a great deal about the Music education curriculum in the schools in Alberta, and the preparation that university education majors receive.

This is different than some of the American education system approaches, and has been an important educational experience. In return, I have been able to provide UA students with some new educational techniques and approaches, using Jazz music as a teaching tool for young musicians, including exploring jazz improvisation experiences and a variety of jazz musical styles to develop musical understanding”.

Fulbright Specialist Jack Wilkins (2012-13)

music. This concept is being expanded to include a variety of world music styles, which offer different perspectives on the basic musical concepts of melody, harmony and rhythm. Embracing a global educational approach to learning about music is just one idea that I have an interest in exploring, which is a direct result of my international exchange experiences”.

Wilkins argues that exchange experiences are beneficial to students as well. “I have been fortunate to observe the profound impact that the By experiencing aspects of the Canadian international experience has had on students. It is vital for young people education system, Wilkins is better to understand the differences and prepared to think globally about music similarities that exist in other cultures. education. “Because music is such As the world becomes more connected, an international force, and there are students that have experienced other so many interesting musical genres in cultures and know how to interact with the world, I can envision some new people from different backgrounds approaches, which employ the use of will be an important component in many world music styles in the Music developing a future based on inclusion, Education curriculum. Jazz Music is understanding and communication. I becoming a standard study for serious believe that International exchange musicians in US Music schools. The Jazz Education movement is spreading into the programs and Education Abroad international music education scene, and opportunities play a vital role in the is a good example of how a comparatively education of the next generation of leaders and citizens of the world”. new musical style can become an

important educational tool for learning

Page 4 Education and Cross-Border Collaboration

Education Matters

level of dialogue and focused attention on what must be done to move the project forward.

University of Saskatchewan

The University of Saskatchewan has embarked upon an ambitious curriculum renewal project. In doing so, they sought advice and recommendations from an external person who had experience in successfully navigating the often difficult terrain of curriculum reform.

Dr. Charles R. White led the creation and implementation of fundamental curriculum reform at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, and has also previously consulted with, and conducted external reviews for a number of colleges and universities in the United States. “The initiatives begun by the University of Saskatchewan are far reaching. I was honored to have been asked to work with them as a Fulbright Specialist,” says White.

The international exchange supported by the Fulbright Specialist Program afforded White the opportunity to work with the University of Saskatchewan for an extended period of time rather than the normal 2-3 days of a consultancy.

“I found this to be very important for my understanding of the initiatives

which were underway, and particularly the structural characteristics of the university that are in some ways unique.

Some of which appear to be grounded within the context of higher education in Canada—most notably the absence of an institutional accreditation process in Canada. At the end of this period I was able to write a report to the College of Arts and Sciences that was more complete and, I understand, more helpful than would have been the case with the usual short consultant’s visit”.

The Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Peter Stoicheff, observed that the University benefited from the input of an American expert in the field: “it was extraordinarily useful to have an expert who has experienced fundamental curricular change—and who has driven it successfully at his own institution—visit and become closely acquainted with what we’re doing during the early stages—early enough to provide useful and useable feedback, but far enough into the process to be able to see what’s working and what isn’t.” Dean Stoicheff also noted the importance of the extended 14 day visit which he notes resulted in raising the

The University of Saskatchewan is, at the same time, on the verge of some significant budget reductions. Here, the experience of Portland State University, -which was able to enact significant curriculum reform in the context of major budget reductions, contributed to White’s ability to understand and to speak to the possibility of reform within a stringent fiscal environment. “I gather that this is a recent and threatening reality for many Canadian universities” says White. “In contrast, for many U.S. institutions this is no longer even the “new normal”; it is just what is normal for public higher education”. The issues that flowed from the fiscal context and from the absence of institutional accreditation became important components of the conversations and of the cross-border collaboration.

Before his experience, White had doubts about the results of such an international exchange, but found that being a Fulbright Specialist gave him the standing to fully participate and contribute to a range of discussions that were focused on the curriculum renewal project. “The extended time allowed me to better understand the context of the initiatives in terms of institutional structure and in terms of personnel.

It also provided an opportunity to establish personal relationships that I expect will continue. I have committed to continue to work with the University and to assist in any way possible throughout the length of the curriculum renewal process. This level of connection and continued relationship would not have been possible without the support of the Fulbright Specialist Program”.

Page 5 ANNOUNCEMENTS: Fulbright Changes its Policy on Lifetime Limits In an important policy shift, the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board has eliminated the lifetime limit of two Fulbright awards. Until recently, students and scholars could receive a maximum of two Fulbright grants. This policy change reflects the board’s understanding that

both breadth and depth are important when it comes to scholarship and to mutual understanding.

It is important to note that while there are no longer any formal limits there remains a modest preference for first

time applicants, and that all applicants are encouraged to be specific about how their exchange would contribute to, and fit with, the goals of the program.

2012-13 Community Leaders The Fulbright Canada Community Leadership Program, which is co-sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Canada, provides an opportunity for alumni of the CanadaU.S. Fulbright Program, and alumni of all USG sponsored programs to take action, get involved, and organize a project that has a positive impact on a Canadian community. The Program was created in 2010, when Fulbright Canada made a concerted effort to reach out to its active and engaged alumni - leaders in their fields, champions of social action, and proponents of diversity. This year, we are proud to be supporting another five outstanding projects aimed at engaging local communities and addressing pressing needs.

visually to the stories they have collected in order to engage viewers with issues of gender, displacement and immigration, memory, voice and silences.

act as a critical re-examination of what constitutes good design choices and what design changes can be made in the future to increase the urban experience for all.

Bernard Duhaime (Canadian Fulbright Visiting Chair, 2011-12) and his team consisting of multiple Fulbright Canada alumni - including three American Fulbright Students from the 2012-13 cohort: Karl Barber, Anjali Cera, and Anna January, and alumnae Amélie Quesnel-Vallée (Canadian Fulbright Student, 1999-2000), are working on a project entitled “Breaking Down Barriers: Accessibility Issues for Persons With Physical Disabilities in Montreal.”

This project aims to improve the quality of life for physically handicapped persons, and raise awareness with regards to issues surrounding persons with disabilities.

Tobias Nussbaum (Canadian Fulbright Mid-Career, 2009-10), and collaborators Elizabeth Muggah (Canadian Fulbright Student, 2009-10), and Deborah Chatsis (Canadian Fulbright Mid-Career, 2006-07) will create a gateway in Ottawa. Their project is entitled “Building a Main Street Gateway – A Neighborhood Project to Revitalize our Main Street and Build Community Engagement.” The project aims to revitalize an area that has seen sharp decline and atrophy of large sections of Beechwood Avenue.

The last project, organized by Community Leader Caroline Tait (Canadian Fulbright Student, 1995-96), will address the The first CLP team is made up of team problem of gangs and gang violence in leader Victor Armony (Canadian Fulbright Sandy Ng (Canadian Fulbright NEXUS Saskatoon, SK. Caroline is collaborating Scholar, 2011-12) is collaborating Visiting Chair, 2011-12), and partners with Charles S. Coffey (Fulbright Canada with both Sonia Lawrence (Canadian Jean-François Coté (Canadian Fulbright past Board of Directors) and Bettina Fulbright Student, 2000-01), and Visiting Chair, 2011-12), and Jill Strauss Schneider (American Fulbright Student, Angela Loder (Canadian Fulbright (American Fulbright Visiting Chair, 2006-07). Tait aims to help make the Student, 2007-08) on a project that 2012-13). The project, an art exhibition community partner STR8 UP become takes place in Toronto. “Voices of the entitled “All Our Stories Begin and End financially independent so it can city” is a community program that will continue its gang prevention campaigns, with…,” will take place in Montreal. The highlight the ways that seniors and five visual artists - current Concordia and gang intervention programs. By youth interact with urban environments soliciting the advice and knowledge of University students or recent graduates in order to raise awareness of the - are affiliates at the Centre for Oral a similar American company that has History and Digital Storytelling (COHDS), challenges faced by seniors. Through secured partnerships with organizations “photovoice”, seniors and youth with and are working with storytellers in to employ over 200 former gang photograph infrastructure that they the Montreal area. COHDS has been members - Homeboy Industries, Caroline like and dislike, and that causes them collecting life histories of refugees and plans to host an event in Saskatoon with frustrations or inconveniences in daily Homeboy Industries, then collaborate immigrants to Montreal for more than living. The exhibited photographs will five years; these artists will respond with SR8T Up to develop a business plan.

Page 6 2012-13 Eco Leaders The Fulbright Canada-RBC Eco-Leadership Program provides small grants to our alumni, allowing them to create a volunteer-based project that will have a significant environmental impact in their community.

Victoria Chraibi plans to explore and exhibit the multi-generational connection that an agriculture community in Lincoln, Nebraska has to its land. Older citizens will record memories and experiences with the land, while students will use photography to interact and connect with nature.

Over the years, we have become more aware of the challenges we face in preserving our environment and minimizing our impact on the sensitive eco-system that makes up our planet.

We recognize that the Fulbright program, which is predicated on physically moving individuals between countries around the globe, has an ecological impact on the planet. The Eco-Leadership Program offers Fulbrighters an opportunity to offset their carbon footprint, make a positive environmental impact, engage with their community, and do a little good. This year, we are proud to be supporting another 10 outstanding projects aimed at engaging with local communities and addressing environmental challenges.

Monica-Gabriela Cojocaru will have students show the role played by quantitative analysis in creating and implementing an electronic waste recycling policy in Guelph and Waterloo.

Emilie Boone is organizing an event in Evanston, Illinois. The Evanston Fire Department, college students from the Cultural and Community Studies (CCS) Residential Hall at Northwestern University (WildCats), and the local Evanston community, will all participate in a maple tree planting effort to improve the environmental impact of a park frequently utilized by local residents.

Holly Cronin proposes to host a series of workshops and create a small library and laboratory space designed to inspire and facilitate grassroots research and development with respect to seaweed: understanding its role in the Bay of Fundy ecosystem; exploring various methods to harvest native species; exploring new (and historic) culinary uses, and the like.

Patrick Feng’s project is to review and promote sustainable purchasing in higher education facilities by focusing on the University of Calgary.

David Holben plans to increase awareness of a sustainable local food system among Appalachian Ohio Community members through the development and implementation of an ecological nutrition lecture series entitled, The EcoNutrition Café Series.

By partnering with Kerrisdale Community Garden, located in Vancouver, Donald Munton aims to promote leadership in sustainability and ecological education by building an infrastructure employing the latest in sustainable gardening practices.

Toddi Steelman will organize two weekend educational workshops in at Saskatoon’s NE Swale - a large tract of native prairie, wetland and terrestrial areas. Participants will learn about habitat management and ecological engagement collect extensive biological data, and how to sustain important ecosystem services.

Peter Stoett is working with Concordia students and The City Farm School to promote a cultural shift towards more resilient communities able to meet the challenges posed by climate change by focusing on local food autonomy. Two abandoned sites at Concordia University will be used to grow food that will be donated to the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Food Bank, and the campus food bank.

David Tabachnick’s project is designed to facilitate youth gardening and literacy through a collaborative effort between the North Bay Horticultural Society and North Bay Public Library. Children between the ages of 6 and 12 will participate for 18 weeks, learning water conservation, organic agriculture, waste management, and the like in an outdoor environment “Sweetman’s Garden.”

New Fulbright Canada Alumni Internship Program The Fulbright Canada Alumni Internship Program, co-sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, offers a unique opportunity for Fulbright Canada alumni, and alumni of all USG sponsored programs to develop professional skills, network with prominent university figures and government officials, and develop a deeper understanding of the Canada-U.S. bilateral relationship.

Fulbright Canada is currently offering two internship positions: a summer internship which begins mid-May and ends August 31st, and a 9-month internship which runs from September 1st to April 30th. Successful applicants will work at the Fulbright Canada office in Ottawa, Canada’s capital, for the defined period of the award. Interns will be able to fully immerse themselves in

all that Ottawa has to offer: from meeting with other government agency interns, to tours of various Ottawa landmarks, interning in Canada’s capital offers a truly unique experience. We will be accepting applications shortly, please check the website for details.

Page 7 APPLY FOR UPCOMING COMPETITIONS: Fulbright Canada Calendar: American Students & Scholars Fulbright Scholar and Chairs Program (Available to US Scholars and senior professionals who want to lecture and/or conduct research in Canada during the 2014-15 academic year.)

Competition Opens: February 1, 2013 Competition Closes: August 1, 2013 Fulbright Specialists Program (Available to US scholars who want to spend two to six weeks lecturing and working with colleagues at a Canadian university.)

Ongoing Competition Fulbright Student Program (Available to US graduate students who want to study and/or conduct research in Canada for nine months during the 2014-15 academic year.)

Competition Opens: May 15, 2013 Competition Closes: Mid-October 2013*

*Please note that this is the IIE deadline for university/college as well as individual submissions. Most universities/colleges have an internal deadline prior to that date, normally in September, in order to hold an internal adjudication process and submit the selected applications to the IIE prior to this deadline.

Fulbright Canada Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Award (Available to US students who have completed an undergraduate degree and want to pursue a PhD in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics at a leading institution in Canada starting in the 2014-15 academic year.)

Competition Opens: May 15, 2013 (TBC) Competition Closes: Mid-October 2013 (TBC) Killam Fellowships Program (Available to US undergraduate students who want to study for one or two semesters in Canada during the 2014-15 academic year.)

Competition Opens: September 1, 2013 Competition Closes: January 31, 2014*

*Please note that this is the Fulbright Canada deadline for partner university/college submissions, as well as for students applying independently through the open competition. All partner universities/colleges have an internal deadline prior to that date, normally in December/January, in order to hold an internal adjudication process, and submit selected applications to Fulbright Canada before January 31.

Fulbright Canada Calendar: Canadian Students & Scholars Fulbright Scholar and Chairs Program (Available to Canadian Scholars and senior professionals who want to lecture and/or conduct research in the United States during the 2014-15 academic year.)

Competition Opens: May 15, 2013 Competition Closes: November 15, 2013 Fulbright Student Program (Available to Canadian graduate students who want to study and/or do research in the United States for nine months during the 2014-15 academic year.)

Competition Opens: May 15, 2013 Competition Closes: November 15, 2013 Killam Fellowships Program (Available to Canadian undergraduate students, usually in their third year, who want to study for one or two semesters in the United States during the 2014-15 academic year.)

Competition Opens: September 1, 2013 Competition Closes: January 31, 2014* *Please note that this is the Fulbright Canada deadline for partner university/college submissions, as well as for students applying independently through the open competition; all partner universities/colleges must have an internal deadline prior to that date, normally in December/January, in order to hold an internal adjudication process and submit the selected applications to Fulbright Canada before January 31.

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Address: 2015-350 rue Albert Street Ottawa, ONÂ K1R 1A4 Tel: (613) 688-5517Â www.fulbright.ca For more information, subscribe to our blog, follow us on twitter, or LIKE us on Facebook!

The mandate of Fulbright Canada is to enhance mutual understanding between the people of Canada and the people of the United States of America by providing support to outstanding individuals. These individuals conduct research, lecture, or enroll in formal academic programs in the other country.

In doing so, Fulbright Canada aims to grow intellectual capacity, increase productivity, and assist in the shaping of future leaders.

Educational exchange allows for the development of our future leaders, it encourages a more nuanced appreciation of each other, and it contributes to a more thoughtful and more reasoned public policy debate in both countries.